Railway and other ticket.



PATENTED SEPT. 12, 1905.

P. B. WAITE. RAILWAY AND OTHER TICKET.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1904.

Rttomegs.

Witnesses:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAILWAY AND OTHER TICKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1905.

Application filed November 23, 1904. Serial No- 234,046.

To all whom it ntay concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK BROWN l/VAITE,

a citizen of the United States, residing at lVorcester, in the county ofWorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulRailway and other Ticket, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway and other tickets.

In many parts of the United States it is unlawful for any other than thepurchaser of a ticket to use it, and with this end in View many schemeshave been tried, such as the requirement of the signature of thepurchaser of the ticket, a personal description of the holder, and otherdata that would operate under ordinary circumstances to prevent Wrongfuluse of a ticket. These means have, however, proved abortive, for thereason that it is an easy matter for a so-called scalper by chemicals toremove the written descriptive matter and insert another that will applyto the person holding the ticket. The signature of the purchaser hasalso not proved effective for the purposes designed, for the reason thatit is almost impossible upon a rapidly-moving train for a person to signhis or her signature with anything like a degree of perfection, and thisvery fact enables a spurious owner of a ticket to simulate the signaturewith sufficient accuracy to secure its aoceptance by the conductor.Photographs have also been used as an identifying means; but owing tothe manner in which they were attached to the ticket they could easilybe detached and others substituted therefor.

The object of the present invention is in a ready, simple, thoroughlyfeasible, practical, and positive manner so to combine an identifyingmeans with a ticket as to preclude the possibility of its being alteredor changed without detection. Furthermore, to enable a conductor orother official merely by the sense of touch to determine Whether or notan attempt has been made to molest or tamper with the identifying means.By employing the sense of touch and sight in determining whether or notthe holder of a ticket is entitled to use it double protection forrailways and steamboat companies against the illegal use of tickets issecured, and, further, mistakes that sometimes occur even with theproper owner of the ticket to establish his or her identity areobviated.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear as the natureof the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novelconstruction and combination of parts of a railway-ticket, as will behereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, andin which like characters of reference indicate correspond ing parts,there are illustrated five forms of embodiment of the invention eachcapable of carrying the same into practical operation, it beingunderstood that the elements therein exhibited may be varied or changedas to shape, proportion, and exact manner of assemblage withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the simplest form ofembodiment of the invention, exhibiting a portion of a railway-tickethaving combined with it one of the identifying means of the invention.Fig. 2 is a View in elevation of a portion of a railway-ticket wit-h theflap turned back to exhibit the manner in which the parts are assembled.Fig. 3 is a view in diagonal cross-section taken on the line 3 3,Fig. 1. Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 are views in elevation of differentmodified forms of the invention.

Referring to the drawings and to Figs. 1 to 3 thereof, 1 designates thebody of the ticket, which, as usual, bears printed matter such as thenames of different stations, directions for using the ticket, Sac. Oneend of the ticket is furnished with a flap 2, that is coextensive inlength and breadth with the folded end portion of the body and isprovided with an opening 3, which maybe circular, as shown in Fig. 1,quadrangular, as shown in Fig. 4, substantially oval, as shown in Fig.5, or of any other contour. Secured to the body of the ticket, back ofthe opening, is a portrait 4 of the owner of the ticket, which will betaken at the time the ticket is purchased and applied to the body of theticket at the station. The back of the flap is shown as provided with acoating of mucilage 5, and this may be a dry adhesive, or be applied atthe time the ticket is purchased in moist form. As will be seen byreference to Fig. 1, the opening 3 is of less extent than the area ofthe picture, so that the adhesive surrounding the opening will firmlyadhere to the portrait, which itself may also be pasted to the body 4,thereby securing a double attachment. After the flap has been turned tothe position shown.

in Fig. 1 and pasted eyelets 6 (in this instance four) are clenchedthrough the body" of the ticket and through the flap. By clenching themargins or edges of the burred portions of the eyelets into the body ofthe ticket and into the flap it will be seen that it will be impossibleto remove these eyelets without marring the ticket to such extent as toattract attention, and thus notify the conductor that the ticket hasbeen tampered with. As an additional means of security an eyelet 7 maybe clenched through the portrait and body portion, as in Fig. 4. Whenthe portrait is in the position shown, if the conductor rubs his thumbover the face of the portrait and it contacts with the wall of theopening this will show that the ticket is intact,and thus serve astactile means of de- .'*tection, for should an attempt be made to inserta portrait within the opening without removing the original this willimmediately be detected, as the wall'of the opening will then notpresent an obstruction to the sense of touch. Owing to the fact that theadhesive is applied to the portrait entirely around' the opening 3, itwill be impossible for a knife to be inserted under the flap for thepurpose of lifting it to insert a photograph without detection, and,further, as the eyelets are disposed quite close to the opening 3 evenif the flap should be detached from the photograph it could not belifted a sufficient distance to permit the insertion of anotherphotograph.

In order still further to prevent the unlawful use of the ticket, scrollor fret Work 8, as shown in Fig. 6, may be employed, which Would beimprinted upon or impressed into the flap and photograph. By varying thedesigns of this marking it will be impossible for a scalper to removethe photograph and substitute another having thereon markings that willregister with those on the flap. As shown in Fig. 6, the markings are.applied immediately around the opening and upon the portrait adjacent toits edges; but, as shown in Fig. 5, the scroll or net work 9 may beprinted upon or impressed into the entire surface of the photograph andalso upon the ticket surrounding it.

As an additional means of security there may be combined with thephotograph, as shown in Fig. 7, a body of coloring'material 10, such asanalin dye, which if an attempt be made to soak the ticket for thepurpose of loosening the adhesive for removing the portrait willinstantly run and stain both the photograph and the ticket, and therebygive further and positive visual indication of the fact that an attempthas been made unlaw fully to change the ticket.

If desired, the station using the ticket may have a stamp bearing itsname, as shown at 1 1 in Fig. 7, which may be stamped partly upon theportrait and partly upon the ticket, or each station-master or eachconductor mayhava distinctive mark, as at 1 2 and 13, which may beimprinted upon the ticket and portrait.

A still further means of preventing illegal use of the ticket may beprovided by cutting an opening 14 in the body of the ticket back.

turesexhibited in the other figures with the exception of thecoloring-matter, (shown in Fig, 7.)

It will be seen-from the foregoing description that although the meansemployed for preventing unlawful use of the ticket as herein defined,are simple that they willbe thoroughly effective for use for thepurposes defined, and will in a ready and practical manner preclude thepossibility of a ticket being used by any other than the proper person.

It is to be understood that all of the identifyingmarks and means forpreventing improper uses may be combined with any form of' ticket otherthan that shown in Fig; 6,

and as this will be obvious detailed illustraings displayed partly uponthe ticket and partly upon the portrait, the body of the ticket havingan opening to permit inspection of the back of the portrait.

3. A railway or other ticket having at oneend a flap provided with anopening, and a body portion to which the flap is secured and having alsoan opening, a portrait secured between the flap and the body portion andhaving the face showing through the opening in the flap and its'baokthrough the opening in the body portion, and eyelets clenched throughthe flap and body of the ticket and through the portrait.

4. A railway or other ticket provided with a portrait of the ownerpermanently associated therewith, and with distinctive markingsdisplayed partly upon the ticket and 1 opening, aportrait securedbetween the body partly upon the portrait, the body of the portion andthe flap and having the face 15 ticket having an opening to permitinspec thereof showing through one opening and tion of the back of theportrait, and eyelets the back through the other opening, and anclenched through the ticket and the portrait. eyelet clenched throughthe body and flap A railway or other ticket provided with of the ticketand through the portrait.

a portrait of the owner permanently asso- In testimony that I claim theforegoing as 20 ciated therewith, the body of the ticket havmy own Ihave hereto affixed my signature ing an opening to permit inspection ofthe in the presence of two witnesses.

10 back of the portrait. l FRAN K BROWN WAITIG.

6. A railway or other ticket comprising a v body portion having anopening, a flap secured to the body portion and having an Witnesses: I

HARRY H. TIIAYER, CARL M. BLAIR.

